Photos

What a glorious day we had for this year's GDT Picnic complete with a siting of the Purple Emperor butterfly.

Seaford College Community Day 2016

A big thank you to the Seaford students and staff (pictured left) who, on Community Day, climbed the Downs to rake and tidy the tumuli as well as rid the Reserves of ragwort. We were serenaded while working by two of the young ladies in the group which was fun. We did our best to answer the many thoughtful questions and also pass on some information about the Graffham Downs Trust and the need to manage the reserves for wildlife. Your help was much appreciated and we hope to see you on the reserves over the winter for our working parties.

Michael Blencowe’s
May 2016 walk on Graffham Down.

Michael Blencowe couldn’t have asked for much more when he
was joined by 24 others for his annual May walk around the Graffham Down
Reserves.With little sun on a cool day
no one was expecting to see much in the way of butterflies and in truth there
were very few visible.

Unphased
Michael explained what we might hope to see and prayed for the sun to show more
often.Sadly his pray was unanswered,
but with every cloud and there were many of them comes a silver lining.Cold butterflies often spend time with open
wings trying to warm up and are are easier to photograph.Silver turned to gold when the first
butterfly to be found was the rare and recently discovered on Graffham Down,
Duke of Burgundy.The male of the
species, ususlly fiercly defending his territory, could only laze languidly trying
to warm his wings suffieintly to get airborne.It gave everyone excellent views and photo opportunities.

There
was a profusion of cowslips in Scott’s Corner.Perfect for the fussy female or Duchess who egg-lays only on large
succulent cowslips with upright leaves in short scrub.These exacting requirements give the
developing caterpillars plenty of food in a warm position.The male guards the area diligently.

After this incredible start to the walk everything else was
a bonus.The day flying moth the
Speckled Yellow appeared frequently, but was difficult to view well.A red
admiral showed itself briefly before perching high in a yew tree and a couple
of male Orange-tip butterflies showed themselves off while warming in the long
grass.A Speckled wood made a brief
appearance and a roosting female Orange tip displayed the beautiful lacework
pattern on her underwings.